Page 68 of The Dark Side

"Hey, girl," the biker called.

Adrik glanced behind him, watching as she peeked out.

"You need help?"

Jolie shook her head.

The biker's gaze dipped to her arm. "He do that to you?"

She looked at her bruise. The light from the alley shined on it. She shook her head, but there was skepticism in his eyes as he analyzed Adrik. "You know pussies hit women."

Adrik clenched his fist.

The biker stepped forward, while the rest of his pack kept their distance. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just wanted to bowl."

"Far from the nest. Your kind isn't welcome here. But she can stay."

Adrik bit, "Keep her out of your mouth, or we are going to have a problem."

"She know what you are? A Russian bitch?"

Jolie felt the insult and came to his defense. "I'm with him."

The man spat on the floor, and his friends sneered at her. "Then, you betray your homeland. No more than a Putin whore."

Adrik flinched, but he stayed put, with Jolie digging her nails into his back. He was outnumbered and too far from home. A hand at his side motioned for his two guards to take their hands off their guns. He wasn't going to start anything. They were right. He shouldn't have come here. But there were only so many places he could go with Jolie that his father wouldn't discover.

"We're done," Adrik announced, turning and directing Jolie into the car. He shut it and faced the biker one more time. "You made your master proud. Go tell Benny what a great job you did. He might give you a treat."

Adrik ignored the curses and the threats. They were full of it. They couldn't touch him without permission, and it was clear they weren't given that kind of leeway. He got into his car, revved the engine more than necessary, and sped off.

Chapter twenty-five

Logical

Adrikdidn'tknowwhatto say. Jolie wasn't speaking. She sat shivering for the first ten minutes and was now staring out the window, too quiet.

Having a gang come up on him in the middle of a bowling alley wasn't something he wanted her to experience for their first date. It had been going so well up till that point. He was sure he could get her to ignore his mafia life and simply surrender to the attraction growing between them. And now, all he did was reinforce her fears. Any advancement in their relationship was looking more as an impossibility. He should just give up.

Maybe it was the mafia in him, but he refused to do so.

"You suck at bowling, by the way," Adrik cut into the silence.

Jolie snapped her head toward him. He met her gaze, humor dancing in his eyes, hoping to weasel her out of the bubble she put herself in. And though it took a minute, a soft smile danced on her lips. "Not one of my skills."

He grinned, reaching for her hand. She allowed it, and he tied his fingers in with hers. Such a simple action that he wanted to do every day.

"Does that happen often?" Jolie finally wondered.

"No," Adrik admitted, wishing to change the subject, but he couldn't. He needed to explain. "I didn't know that bowling alley was tied with any gang. But there aren't many neutral places. Everything I own is tied in with my father. Someone would report back to him."

She paused as those words rolled in her head before she whispered, "And you can't be seen with me. Because your father will hurt me."

Adrik clenched the steering wheel. "I won't let him."

"He told me to stay away from you. Both of you."